College Football Week 4 Preview
Week 4 is here and conference play is slowly starting, we have three matchups between top 25 teams, including one game with MAJOR playoff implications. The Big 10 is coming in hot with a monster game between two conference favorites, meanwhile, two middle of the pack SEC teams try to get back on the road to the SEC Championship.
#11 Michigan at #13 Wisconsin
Week 4 starts in Madison, Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium. This could be a preview of the Big 10 Championship in January. With Nebraska imploding, Wisconsin has moved firmly into the driver’s seat in the Big 10 West, for what feels like the 15th consecutive year. They usually dance through the weaker side of the conference before they head to Indiana and get dunked on by the kings of the East, you’d think by now they’d learn their lesson about traveling east in the winter. On the other hand, Michigan came into the season favored to win the East, partially due to Urban Meyers “retirement”, (he’s going to coach at USC next season), but with Ohio State rolling and Penn State slowly putting things together, who knows what will happen. One thing that hurts their resume is going into overtime with Army, I understand the triple option can be tough once it gets going, but if you’re title contender, you have to dominate in games you’re expected to dominate.
Brent Musburger expects Wisconsin to win this one by a field goal, and I think that’s low for a couple of reasons:
- Stripe Out, no sport is as affected by a crowd as much as College Football.
- Last year Michigan won at home 38–13 and I think the Wisconsin locker room is out for blood.
- Wisconsin has won 4 straight at home against Michigan, to take it a step further, Michigan hasn’t won a game at Camp Randall since 2001.
These 3 factors come together to create a tough day for any fan of the Maize and Blue.
Pick: Wisconsin 24–17
#8 Auburn @ #17 Texas A&M
Here we have two second-tier SEC teams starting up conference play. I don’t think either of these teams will be competing in the College Football Playoff or even their conference championship. Nothing against these guys, their offenses are chaotic and a lot of fun to watch, but I just don’t see either of them getting through Alabama. That being said, this game is absolutely worth watching. Two talented Quarterbacks who are not afraid to let it rip, mixed with two defense who aren’t exactly loaded with NFL talent. Bo Nix (Auburn) and Kellen Mond (A&M) have thrown for a combined 1,200 yards, 9 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions across 6 games. These two guys will put up a lot of points Saturday and I would look out for at least one game-altering interception. The punters probably don’t even have to dress for this game, whoever gets the ball last is going to win this battle.
Pick Texas A&M 34 -31
Temple @ Buffalo
This game is not a match up between titans, it is not a rivalry, these are not playoff contenders and most of these guys will not be in the NFL. The other three games in this blog are top 25 matchups between Power 5 teams that all have a reason to believe they can make the playoff, this game is not that. I wanted to mention this game because I truly believe Buffalo can pull off an upset here today. Brent Musburger has them as 15 point dogs, and that seems totally fair. Temple is a better all-around team, in a much tougher conference, and more talented players. However, Temple is coming off what they consider to be a program defining upset at home against Maryland. I’m not sure Maryland is as good as Temple wants them to be, but either way, these guys are focused on what happened last week, I’m not sure they even realize they have a game coming up this week. I have a lot of friends who went to Temple and I’ve suffered many years of watching them play and my main take away is they have no identity. They can play up to the talent of almost anyone who comes to Philadelphia, but they can just as easily play down to whatever schmo walks out of the tunnel. In 15 years of watching Temple, I’ve never seen them play two good games in a row. Buffalo has a high powered offense and an OK defense, but they have heart and a winning mentality.
Pick: Buffalo 28–17
#7 Notre Dame @ #3 Georgia
Here it is folks, the first real match up of the 2019 College Football Season. Two teams with a legit claim at the throne this year. Last year Georgia barely missed the playoff due to some late-game heroics by Jalen Hurts last year in the SEC championship. Meanwhile, Notre Dame got the invitation and unfortunately, that meant they had to spend 4 quarters getting stomped on by Clemson. Personally I don’t believe in this Notre Dame team. That’s a little bit of personally bias against Notre Dame, and a little bit of they haven’t really done anything impressive in 10 years. Last year they beat a good Michigan team in Week 1 at home, but Michigan has a chance at redemption this year and I suspect the Wolverines will take advantage. Vegas seems to agree by making Georgia 14.5 point favorites. I don’t think this will be a blow out like Vegas, but If they play 100 times, I think Georgia will win 100 games. I think Georgia QB Jake Fromm is for real, and they have a mean SEC defense that punishes players for playing in the middle third of the field.
Pick: Georgia 45–35
